


from friends to this

by fraudulentzodiacs



Category: Men's Hockey RPF
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Long-Distance Relationship, M/M, Mating Cycles/In Heat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-07
Updated: 2020-08-07
Packaged: 2021-03-05 21:06:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,914
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25771807
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fraudulentzodiacs/pseuds/fraudulentzodiacs
Summary: Gabe stared at his computer screen as he stretched out across the unfamiliar hotel bed. The familiar Skype ringtone sounded out as it connected the call, the TB teasing him until Tyson’s familiar face filled the screen.“Hi.” Gabe breathed out, and even he could hear the softness in his voice. Tyson smiled, something small and private and Gabe watched as he settled on his own bed.
Relationships: Tyson Barrie/Gabriel Landeskog
Comments: 8
Kudos: 97





	from friends to this

Gabe stared at his computer screen as he stretched out across the unfamiliar hotel bed. The familiar Skype ringtone sounded out as it connected the call, the TB teasing him until Tyson’s familiar face filled the screen.

“Hi.” Gabe breathed out, and even he could hear the softness in his voice. Tyson smiled, something small and private and Gabe watched as he settled on his own bed. “How’s the hotel?”

“Fine.” Tyson shrugs. “Weird to be staying in a hotel in Toronto. Like, I can practically see my apartment from here.”

“Your apartment is kilometers from there, Tys.”

“You know what I mean.” Tyson huffs out. “How’s Edmonton?”

“It’s Edmonton. I mean, now I’m stuck in this hotel so it’s even more boring than usual.”

“We should have stayed in Stockholm.”

“You hate Sweden.” Gabe points out. “You said it’s the most boring place on earth.”

“I like being with you.” Gabe feels his cheeks heat at that, and he doesn’t miss the way Tyson puffs up with pride.

“I like being with you, too.”

“Of course you do, I’m the best boyfriend.”

“You’re the best something.” Gabe chirps weakly. He’s about to say something else when there’s a pounding on his door.

“Landy, let’s go! Cornhole on the rooftop!” Nate’s voice calls out through the door.

“Go.” Tyson tells him, and Gabe doesn’t miss the hint of sadness in Tyson’s eyes at being left out.

“They don’t need me, I can stay.”

“No, go. Captain’s gotta captain.”

“Okay.” Gabe relents. “I’ll call you later, though.”

“You better.”

“Love you.” He tells Tyson, who echoes the sentiment before ending the call.

They settle into life in the bubble, and it it’s still strange but being back on the ice is familiar enough that Gabe can almost forget about being so definitively separated from Tyson. He doesn’t think it should feel quite this intense – they’re not bonded, after all – but he feels like he’s missing a limb when he thinks too hard about Tyson.

They’ve barely been together for a year, almost seven years of friendship slowly evolving into something else. They had been curled up close on Gabe’s couch while watching a movie, Tyson turning his head from Gabe’s shoulder to run his nose along Gabe’s neck – subtly scenting him – for Gabe to finally muster the courage to close the distance between them. It had been soft, sweet, almost familiar, and Tyson’s spun sugar and warm brownies scent had nearly overwhelmed him.

That had been March, then came the playoffs, and by early May their season was over. Gabe hadn’t thought twice about inviting Tyson back to Sweden with him, hadn’t thought about the implications of an alpha bringing an omega to meet his family. Tyson had charmed them like he charmed everyone, and it had been when they were curled up together in the bedroom of his summer home that Gabe had realized that he loved Tyson. It had been while they were sitting out on the porch a few nights later, halfway through a bottle of wine, that he had told Tyson as much.

Gabe had watched as Tyson’s frown grew deeper every time he checked his phone, watched as his body grew tense and tight no matter how hard Gabe tried to relax him. Gabe wasn’t stupid, he knew that the front office was looking to trade Tyson. It made his chest ache, the thought of being separated from Tyson, and his alpha instincts told him _if you bond with him they can’t trade him_ , but it had only been a few months, and Gabe didn’t want to force a bonding because they were afraid of being separated.

They had flown to Victoria to see Tyson’s family, to celebrate Canada Day, when Tyson finally gets the call.

“Toronto.” Is all he says before pressing his face into Gabe’s neck. Gabe’s arms came around Tyson, holding him close.

“We’ll make it work.” Gabe told him, pulling Tyson in tighter when he heard him sniffle.

That had been a year ago, and they had spent more of their time apart than together, but they had fallen together so easily, so naturally, that it worked. Being apart wasn’t easy – after rough games sometimes it was all Gabe could do to not hop a flight to Toronto so he could surround himself with Tyson’s comforting scent, he familiarity grounding and something Gabe hadn’t realized he relied on so heavily until it wasn’t there anymore. The team had referred to Tyson as the Team Mom and Gabe as the Team Dad even before they had gotten together, and they had all felt Tyson’s loss acutely. It was more than Tyson being an omega, he was the heart and soul of the team – something he wasn’t in Toronto, something that Gabe could sense acutely simply by being in love with him.

The Avs beat both the Blues and the Stars in their round robin games. Gabe is able to watch the Leafs’ second game against the Blue Jackets, and he feels pride watching Tyson play, even if he goes pointless. They talk after, and if Tyson seems overtired, he chalks it up to trying to get back into the swing of things.

It’s not until he calls the next afternoon that he realizes that something is wrong. Tyson is flushed when he answers, a sheen of sweat on his skin as he stares at Gabe with hungry eyes.

“Babe? What’s wrong?” Gabe asks, and Tyson huffs out a breath and collapses onto the pillow.

“I’m in heat.” He doesn’t look at Gabe when he admits it, and Gabe feels his stomach clench as arousal swirls through him.

“Fuck.”

“Yeah.”

“I guess…I didn’t think about that.”

“Yeah, I don’t think Bettman took into account the fact that most of the league’s omegas schedule their heats for the offseason.”

“And now it’s not the offseason.”

“Nope.” Tyson replies, emphasizing the ‘p’ with a loud pop.

“I want to be there for you.” They had ridden out Tyson’s heat last year together, and it had been intense and amazing and just the memory of it had Gabe growing hard in his pants.

“I want you to here but, y’know.”

“What are you going to do?”

“Ride it out alone, I guess.” Tyson groans, and Gabe can tell that he’s touching himself by the soft groan that escapes him.

“Isn’t that bad for you?” Gabe tries to focus on his concern and push his arousal to the back of his mind.

“Not _bad_ , really.” Tyson admits. “Just really fucking miserable.”

“You can…” Gabe swallows, stares at the ceiling. “You can find someone, if you need to." Tyson's gaze snaps back to Gabe, and when Gabe looks back there’s something curious and hurt there.

“You want me to fuck someone else?”

“I want you to do what you need to do to take care of yourself.”

“I don’t want to fuck anyone else, you self-sacrificing idiot.”

“I know that.” Gabe snaps. “I just…I don’t want you to suffer. There has to be someone on the team that can help you out, uh, platonically.”

“Sure, I’m just gonna go down the hall and ask Matts if I can borrow Freddie for a few days, no big deal.”

“I’m just trying to help.”

“You can help by talking to me while I get even more acquainted with my right hand.”

Gabe drops out of the last round robin game against the Knights – and for once he thanks god for the insanity that is the NHL and their decision to tell the public players are simply “unfit to play.” Instead, he spends almost three days locked in his hotel room, his phone and laptop practically attached to him as he does everything he possibly can to make Tyson’s heat easier. It stops being sexy by the end of the first full day, when Tyson is a sobbing, writhing mess on the other end of their Skype call. He’s begging for Gabe’s knot, tears in his eyes as he cries out for the one thing Gabe can’t give him. It makes his inner alpha want to growl, bare his teeth and rip the world apart until he can put his hands on _his_ omega.

Because Tyson _is_ his. Gabe knows that now. If he has anything to say about it, Tyson will never have to go through something like ever again.

His heart yearns to be with him, and just when he feels like he can’t take it anymore Tyson calls him again as Gabe is watching his team wipe the ice with the Golden Knights.

“Hey.” He says into the phone, his voice soft.

“Hey.” Tyson echoes back, and he sounds more like himself than he has in days.

“Tys?” Gabe sits up straighter and mutes the tv.

“My heat broke.”

“Thank god.”

“Yeah, that was rough.” Tyson admits. “Thank you for helping me.”

“Of course, I love you.”

“Love you, too.”

They’re silent for a long time, Gabe soaking in Tyson’s steady breaths on the other end of the line.

“I miss you.” Tyson admits, and Gabe’s heart cracks in his chest.

“I miss you, so much.” Gabe picks at a string poking out of the blanket. “Bond with me.” It’s out before he can stop it.

Tyson’s quiet on the other end for a long moment. “Uh, what?”

“I wanted to do this right, make it special, but I just…I really want that, with you. If you want it too.”

“You want to bond with me?” Tyson sounds like it’s the most ridiculous idea in the world. “Really?”

“We’ve been together for a year.” Gabe shrugs as if Tyson can see him. “But I’ve known you for longer, loved you for longer. You’re it for me.”

“I’m switching to FaceTime.” Gabe pulls the phone away from his face and waits for Tyson’s call to switch. He smiles when Tyson’s face fills his screen, his hair still curly and damp from his shower.

“You want to bond with me?” He asks, and his features are so disbelieving that Gabe has to fight the urge to laugh.

“I mean, that’s what we were heading toward anyway, right?” Tyson does this half-nod, half-shrug thing. “So, what are we waiting for?”

“I’m still in Toronto, and who knows where I’ll be next year.”

“If we’re bonded, they can’t keep us apart.” Gabe points out.

“But…you can’t leave the Avs.”

“So, you’ll come back where you belong.” Gabe gives a shrug of his own. “Or I’ll go wherever you go. You're more important than hockey.”

“Gabe…”

“Unless you don’t want to bond with me.” Tyson’s fighting this harder than Gabe ever imagined, and it fills Gabe with an unfamiliar doubt.

“No, I do!” Tyson jumps, jostling his phone and dropping it onto the floor so Gabe only has a view of the ceiling. A moment later Tyson’s head pops over the edge of the bed, staring down at him. “I want to bond with you so fucking bad!”

Gabe has to laugh, both in relief and at disbelief that _this_ is the person he wants to spend the rest of his life with.

“So, when this is over, let’s do it.” Gabe tells him, and he’s still on the floor, and Tyson’s still hovering over him, and it might not be the perfect proposal but it’s perfect for them.

“I want a fancy ring.” Tyson tells him, and all Gabe can do is smile.

**Author's Note:**

> come scream with me about dumb hockeys on tumblr @bennsseguin


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